volleysparkle Makeup

The Elf Beautifully Bare Natural Glow Face Palette is a small quad with a highlight, bronzer and two blushes.

e.l.f. Beautifully Bare Natural Glow Face Palette

Elf has other quad palettes, with blushes, illuminators and contour. I liked this one because it has all three, and since it is so small, I figured it would be great to travel with. Since this quad is part of the new Beautifully Bare line instead of Elf’s studio line, the packaging is different. Instead of the matte black, the entire compact is mirrored, which could actually come in handy, in addition to just being visually appealing. All four shades felt smooth and creamy to the touch, but once I tried to swatch them on my arm, they became sheer and patchy. The contour shade is the best, but it's still not something that would make me reach for this quad, and I wouldn't say it alone is even worth $8. The two blushes aren’t great, and they look like the same color! So, if you aren't a fan of peachy, coral blushes, they won't be your cup of tea. The highlight is too dark on my fair skin as well, but it would be fine on anyone darker, however, it is hardly reflective and hardly even has shimmer, so I don't even know how flattering it would appear on a different skin tone. In case it wasn't apparent, I really don't like this quad and I was super disappointing. I usually like Elf products, so this was a big let down.

The Wet n Wild Megaglo Illuminating Palette in Catwalk Pink is a four shade illuminating compact.

Wet n Wild Megaglo Catwalk Pink Illuminating Palette

The Megaglo Illuminating Palette comes in a large pan with a clear lid, which I prefer so that you can see the inside powder. Since the pan is quite large, you could use the four shades separately with the right brush--I tend to use the two lighter shades on the left side of the compact. The powder applies smoothly to the skin, it does not look chalky or glittery, as some drugstore highlights can appear. On my more fair skintone, Catwalk Pink is not a super intense highlight, but could appear more dramatic on a darker complexion. Since the shades lean towards the pink side, this highlight could work well on top of a blush as well! If you are searching for an affordable highlighter, I would definitely recommend this one

The City Color Be Matte Blush in Blackberry is a cool toned medium pink with a matte finish.

City Color Blackberry Be Matte Blush

The City Color Be Matte Blush comes in a quite large, round compact, with a clear lid, which I love since you can see the color inside. Don't be fooled by the price, this blush has an amazing formula. It is super smooth and pigmented and blends out very easily on the skin. Since it's very pigmented, I like to use a light hand with this color, but because of this, I could see Blackberry working well on skintones that are darker than mine. As far as lasting power goes, I would say that Blackberry lasts for an average amount of time, and could be reapplied in the afternoon to get back some more color. Overall, I really like this product and definitely will be on the lookout for more City Color products.

The Wet n Wild Coloricon Blush in Rose Champagne is a neutral peach with shimmer.

Wet n Wild Rose Champagne Coloricon Blush

The Wet n Wild Coloricon Blushes were recently repackaged and reformulated. They now come in a more sleek looking black package with a clear lid. The product inside no longer has an embossed design. The packaging feels cheap, but you can’t really complain about that with a product under $3. Rose Champagne gives the cheeks a nice subtle and natural glow. It could probably work as a bit of a highlight on dark skin tones, but it works great as an everyday blush for skin tones like mine. Rose Champagne is a bit powdery due to its pigmentation, but that does not bother me whatsoever. The blush applies nicely to the cheeks and is easy to blend out for a natural finish. ​

The NARSissist Cheek Studio Palette comes in a thick rectangular package with a mirrored lid. Although the palette doesn’t have Nars’s typical rubberized packaging, it is still quite prone to getting dirty thanks to the mirror. The formulation of the cheek products is great, there is not a single dud within the palette, which you would hope would be the case with a $65 palette. The Paloma contour powder is on the pink side, so while it works well on my cool toned skin, it may look more like a blush on other skin tones. The Paloma highlight does not do too much to highlight my fair skin, but I can still use it as a setting powder on certain areas of my face. My favorite thing about Nars blushes is how easy they are to blend, and these blushes do not disappoint. They make applying cheek color super fool proof! The only thing that I think would have made this palette better would be a shimmery highlight instead of a matte one, but I have plenty of shimmery highlights in my collection, so I guess it is a welcomed change. All in all, I really like this palette and although it is expensive, I find it to be more worth it than Nars’s other pricy palettes and other high end cheek sets. ​

The Becca Afterglow Palette is a five pan highlight and blush palette.

Becca Afterglow Palette

The Becca Afterglow Palette comes in a reflective rose package that is compact and travel friendly. The palette has a mirror under the lid and the color names are on the back of the palette. The Afterglow Palette includes three Shimmering Skin Perfectors in Moonstone, Rose Gold and Topaz, and two Mineral Blushes in Wild Honey and Flowerchild. On darker skin tones, two or all of the Shimmering Skin Perfectors could work as a highlight, but on my light skintone, only Moonstone works to highlight my skin. So, while I cannot use the other two as highlights, they are still very pretty for layering over blushes to add a bit of a glow. All the powders have a smooth texture, although the blushes are not quite as soft as the Shimmering Skin Perfectors. ​

The Tarte Showstopper Clay Palette contains six eye shadows, one blush, one contour/bronzer and one highlight powder.

Tarte Showstopper Clay Palette

The Showstopper Palette comes in a gold circular package with a purple snakeskin design on the lid. The palette has a large mirror on the other side of the lid. The only complaint I have with the shadows is that all of them, except for the dark brown, are mid tone shades, so there is not a huge variety. However, the colors are beautiful and they all have a soft texture and amazing color payoff. All three cheek products also perform great, which is nice to see from a multi use palette like this one. The Champagne Pink highlight gives a very nice glow to the skin, and shows up nicely even on lighter skin. Due to the pink tone of the highlight, it may not be the most flattering on everyone, but it could always be used as an eye shadow instead. I also quite enjoy the Park Ave Princess bronzer. It does not look orange or muddy on the skin and is rather easy to blend out. The Fame blush performs just as nicely as the rest of the Amazonian Clay blushes from Tarte; it has great pigmentation and lasts on the cheeks longer than your average blush. This palette is a great choice for travel, as it is small and contains quality eye shadows and cheek products. So far, I have found my self reaching for this palette quite a bit!

The Jordana Blush Powder in Hot Raspberry is a bright medium neutral toned pink with a matte finish.

Jordana Hot Raspberry Blush Powder

The Jordana Blush Powders come in a small plastic pot with a clear lid that screws on. Hot Raspberry has a very smooth and soft texture, which makes it slightly powdery, but not much. It has pretty intense color payoff, making it great for medium to dark skin tones, but it can also work on lighter skin tones when applied with a light hand. Hot Raspberry is super easy to blend out on the cheeks and it has an average wear time. The Jordana Blush Powders are my favorite powder blushes from the drugstore, and I would definitely suggest them to anyone!

The Jordana Blush Powder in Coral Sandy Beach (38) is a mid tone neutral coral with a bit of a sheen.

Jordana Coral Sandy Beach Blush Powder

The Jordana Blush Powders come in a small plastic compact with a clear lid that screws on. The sheen gives the cheeks a bit of a glow and helps to make the skin look healthy. Coral Sandy Beach would work best for light to medium skin tones and I think the color would work great in the spring and summer. Coral Sandy Beach has a very smooth and soft texture and great color payoff. I found the blush to last an average amount of time. It didn't last as well as the Tarte Amazonian Clay blushes, but I didn't find the wear to be an issue at all. Like all the other Jordana blushes I have purchased, Coral Sandy Beach blends out effortlessly on the cheeks and is of course super easy to apply. The formula of these blushes is amazing and I would suggest it to anyone, especially since they are so affordable.

The Sephora Colorful Blush in Sunbaked is a warm orange coral with a matte finish.

Sephora Sunbaked Colorful Blush

The Sephora Colorful Blushes come in a durable feeling black plastic compact with a clear lid. The product on the inside is stamped with Sephora's signature S logo. Sunbaked has a very smooth texture and is slightly powdery, so a lot of product comes off on the brush. It has great color payoff and doesn't need to be built up, but it is also easy to sheer out for a more subtle look. Sunbaked blends out very easy and effortlessly on the skin. I would suggest this color for fair to medium-dark skin tones. It could work on dark skin tones, as long as you build it up.